Parish Pastoral Council

Mission

The Saint James Parish Pastoral Council functions to bring parishioners together as disciples of Christ. We provide support for our members through worship, education, including religious formation, service, and social events. We share in the mission of Jesus through our Baptism and commitment to the Christian way of life. We respond with compassion to both the spiritual and corporal needs of those around us.

Purpose of the Parish Pastoral Council

The Parish Pastoral Council is a consultative body, pastoral in nature, because it strives to discern the movement of the Holy Spirit among God’s people in the parish. It assists the pastor in fostering pastoral activity; it investigates, under the authority of the pastor, all those things which pertain to pastoral works to ponder them, and to propose practical conclusions about them. Specifically, the Parish Pastoral Council’s purpose is to enhance the process of:

pastoral planning

developing pastoral programs

improving pastoral services

evaluating pastoral effectiveness of various programs and services

Although the Council is not a body which makes binding decisions, the recommendations of the Parish Council are to be taken seriously when grounded in prayer, discernment and wisdom. The pastor presides over the Parish Pastoral Council. the pastor is responsible for the final approval of Council recommendations concerning pastoral planning, programs, and ministries for the parish, as well as for their implementation.